Morsi stands trial on 'espionage' charges

Ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, along with 35 others, stand trial today on charges of espionage.

Egyptian state television reported that Morsi arrived at the court room on Sunday morning via a helicopter which transported him from his Borg Al-Arab prison in Alexandria.

Morsi’s defence team, headed by Mohamed Selim Al-Awa, told Anadolu news agency that he would submit a complaint today stating that the court is not entitled to review the case because it lies outside its jurisdiction.

Morsi rejects all the post-coup trials against him, asserting that he is still the legitimate president of Egypt based on article 152 of the 2012, which was replicated in article 159 of the 2014 constitution.

Morsi’s son, Osama, arrived at the court for the first time after acquiring permit to attend the trial in his capacity as an attorney and member of the defense team.

Osama Morsi stated before that judicial authorities refused to grant him permit to attend Morsi’s other trials without any specific reason, but they accepted this time.

The “Grand Espionage Trial”, as dubbed in Egyptian media, includes 36 defendants, 21 of them are detained, and 15 at large.

The defendants are accused of “spying with foreign entities and harming Egyptian interests”.